The usually packed Sportsman pits, as expected have plenty of open spaces.  With the worldwide economic downturn, the luxury of drag racing is no longer an alternative for some racers. 

In the Professional pits and in the Manufacturers Midway there’s also more open space than usual, with some aftermarket Industry leaders departing the sport and the shrinking of teams, we counted twenty-one Top Fuelers, eighteen Funny Cars and twenty-one Pro Stockers.  In today’s economically challenged world, that’s plenty of racecars to make for another great Winternationals at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, and a kick-off for the Full Throttle era of NHRA Drag Racing down Parker Avenue.